Chimonanthus praecox, "wintersweet", is the only species widely grown as an ornamental plant, for its spicily scented winter flowers; these are also used in floristry as cut flowering branches.

Chimonanthus praecox, known as Wintersweet or Japanese Allspice, is a lovely deciduous small tree or large shrub that is native to china.

It is a deciduous shrub or tree from 2 to 13 metres tall with an erect trunk; with leaves 5–29 cm long and 2–12 cm broad.

Its strongly scented flowers are produced in winter and are yellow or yellow with a red basal spot. Wintersweet is an appropriate common name, for the flowers appear all winter on mature plants, and are renowned for their fragrance, whole stems often being cut for indoor arrangements.